How do employer priorities affect claim adjudication and management in workers’ compensation systems?
A company’s main priority is to be successful, which means making profit. The global market is becoming more competitive and as a result, many businesses adopt strategies that cut costs to ensure that they do not run bankrupt. When employees injure themselves, the potential cost of injury claims impacts a company’s WCB premiums. Workers compensation boards are responsible for adjusting a company’s premium based on its injury prevention performance and not on the industry’s average. A company’s performance compared to the industry’s average determines whether employers are presented with a surcharge or awarded a rebate. The workers compensation boards use rating systems that are designed to provide incentives to employers to ensure they prevent injuries and improve safety performance, but it also creates pressure to minimize claim costs. However, instead of improving safety in company operations, employers adopt aggressive adjudication and claim management s #mtrategies. These strategies are intended to perform three things that include
…show more content…
During the workers’ compensation process, healthcare providers do not always have time to fill clear and concise information on compensation documents. Moreover, the injured workers may have problems in communication that hinders the delivery of clear information. These factors create delays that make the return to work difficult. In addition, doctors avoid treating injured workers because they are frustrated by the assessment processes and workers recommendations are not always accepted by the compensation decision makers. For a successful return to work process, health providers need to be patience and there should be clear communication between them and the injured